Would You Drop Everything to Follow Jesus?

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-22, ESV)

Can you stop in the middle of a task and change gears?

I know that’s something I struggle with. If my husband calls from the other room, I usually say I need a couple minutes, or ask him to let me finish this one thing first. I don’t do well leaving something undone, or almost done. My tunnel vision makes it hard for me to walk away from loose ends.

So when I read the above verses, part of me wonders whether I’d be able to drop my nets and my boat in order to follow someone indefinitely. But when I think on it, this is something that isn’t out of the ordinary when it comes to scripture.

When God calls, people leave their lives, even if they’re in the middle of something. David and Moses left their flocks. Gideon left the threshing floor and his wheat.The woman at the well left her pitcher. The disciples left their nets, their boats and their families.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

When Jesus comes calling, are you going to ask Him to wait a few minutes so you can pack a bag? Say goodbye? Finish a text, an email, a meal? Or are you going to leave everything behind to fall in step and follow Him?

James, John, Simon and Andrew weren’t just on their lunch break or wrapping up to punch the clock at the end of a long workday. They were in the middle of fishing. They were casting and mending nets. They were working alongside their father. They were in their boats, perhaps getting ready to set sail, and Jesus told them to follow Him. Their response was immediate– no questions or hesitation.

Would it be ours? Or would we find an excuse to be less immediate?

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26, ESV)

To follow Christ, you have to deny yourself and not just at the onset of your Christian walk, but all throughout it. We don’t just accept Christ and it all of a sudden becomes easy to deny our flesh and sin. We have to do it on a daily basis, constantly letting go of the things we think we’re doing or are in the middle of in order to follow Christ. We have to desire Christ above all else. 

So whatever is in our hands when Jesus comes calling and asking us to follow Him, we have to let it go. Whatever we’re doing, whoever we’re with, wherever we thought we were on our way to. We have to let what’s in our hands go so we can pick up our crosses and follow Christ.

And if something or someone else takes precedence over immediately dropping what we have to follow Jesus, then we have a heart issue that needs to be dealt with. Plus, if you look at it from the disciples point of view, yes they left their comfortable professions and their families, but what did they gain? Think of all the things they saw and experienced. Think of all the lives they saw changed. In the grand scheme of things, don’t you think what they gained far outweighed the initial loss? 

Granted, they were martyred and persecuted, but knowing Christ strengthened them to face it. Why? Paul says it himself in his letter to the Phillippians: “But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss [absolutely worthless] for the sake of Christ [and the purpose which He has given my life].” (Philippians 3:7, AMP)

What does that mean? Essentially, whatever Paul’s former life held pales in comparison in the light who Christ and the things He’s given to Paul. In fact, anything that was important or held merit to Paul before Christ became rubbish to him after. And for Paul, there was a lot to let go of in the moment he met God; he had a whole career, lifestyle, and support group that needed to be reprioritized in a moment.

The thing is, when we see God and know Him in all His wonder, awesomeness, and beauty, there is no way we could fathom holding onto our shabby old nets and fishing lines. If you’d rather hold onto them, then I’d be willing to assert that you’ve never actually known or experienced Him.

So today, is there something in your heart you feel you’d need to wrap up before following Christ if He came up to you and asked? Is there someone you’d need to say goodbye to? Or would your immediate response be to drop what you’re doing, get up, and follow Him wherever He was looking to go?

It’s a high-stakes question with an answer that is even more revealing. If you’re not sure as you read these words, don’t be discouraged. I’ll be praying for you to be strengthened in your faith and desire for Christ that no net, fishing trip, or loose end would be more desirable than following Him. And for us, it’s a choice we have to make every day, but if we know Him it should be a consistent,  immediate response: that nothing would be worth more than being with Him.